Wednesday, September 24, 2008

I have a little story to share, which will allow some of you to get to know me better, and allow myself to reflect on how far I've come. Bear with me...

In November 2006 I weighed almost 200 lbs. I was exercising at the gym regularly and slowly starting to lose some of my post-wedding weight gain. My husband had started taken up a running regimen the year before, just after we were married in September 2005. I always thought he was crazy...

Fast forward a couple months. Near the end of '06 I was getting bored at the gym, results were slowing and I wanted to try something new. Maybe I'll try this running thing.

It all started with a 10-minute (painful, breathless) jog on the treadmill around Christmas of 2006. I kinda liked it.

Without following any kind of program, I was able to run for 30 minutes at a time within a month or so, and started to think maybe I could be a runner.

It was in March '07 that my hubby took me on my first outdoor run, and 5K nearly killed me! Those little hills in our neighbourhood seemed like mountains...but I quickly became addicted to running outdoors.

It was on March 27, 2007 that I decided to run the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront 1/2 Marathon, which was six months away on September 30th. Hubby was on board and we began training together. At this time, my distance was only up to about 7.5K, so I had a long way to go.

In the coming months we loosely followed a training schedule, but mostly ran whatever we felt like. Believe it or not, the greatest distance we ever ran before the HM was only about 13K. Not the smartest idea...

Somehow, we finished the race (holding hands) last September with a time of 2:12:46. That picture you see in the banner above is us as we approached the finish line - kudos to my sister for the awesome shot!

Going into the race, I was planning to take a LONG hiatus afterwards. But lo and behold, that very evening, I was already thinking about which race to run next.

I trained with the local Running Room through a miserable winter and often questioned my sanity, but stuck with it. My next event was the Burlington Chilly Half in March 2008, where I finished in 2:01:00 and developed a bad case of ITBS.

Lots of physio and a few weeks off, I was on the road again before long. Phew! It was during this time that I realized just how important running had become in my life. This is also the time that I decided on the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront for my first marathon. I was excited at the prospect because this had been my first race the year before, and truly is an amazing event.

And so the training ensued! Throughout the spring and summer I followed a program that my hubby created from various sources and ran solo for the most part, with a few races thrown into the mix (see sidebar).

It's been a long summer of looooong runs and it all comes down to this Sunday. Never in a million years would I have expected or even hoped to find myself where I am now. It's been almost two years since I thought I might try running and I find myself 40 lbs lighter, healthier than I've ever been in my life, grateful beyond words for all the love and support from my friends and family along the way and ready to become a marathoner two weeks before my 26th Birthday.

congrats on coming so far... not only in your running, but your weight loss too. You look amazing, and you'll have a lifetime more stories to share. Funny that we can become addicted to running when it feels so impossible in the beginning. :)